


x

by hansoom



Category: After School (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-13 16:57:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11189409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hansoom/pseuds/hansoom
Summary: Juyeon leaves them stranded on the sidewalk, wrapped in rapturous noise.





	1. Chapter 1

Juyeon leaves them stranded on the sidewalk, wrapped in rapturous noise. Fireworks bloom over their heads, rooftops away. Down the street, a rowdy group of teenagers taking their first steps into the new year.  
  
Jinah's eyes are soft under the streetlight. She's looking at Sooyoung the way she always has: quiet, waiting. Nothing has changed after years and years, after jinah's won enough accolades to last a lifetime. Somehow this scares Sooyoung even more.  
  
Sooyoung looks down at their two hands, dangling side by side in the midnight wind. Her fingers are pale, like white twigs against the black asphalt. Beside hers are Jinah's stronger, firmer ones, steady against the cold. She reaches out anyway, and Jinah must have been watching the whole time, because her palm meets Sooyoung's sooner than she'd anticipated.  
  
"Hah," Sooyoung laughs, then. It's a carefree sound. Jinah's eyes pull open wide in delight, and she steps in closer, wraps an arm around Sooyoung's frame.  
  
"I love you," she gasps, giggling as if she has surprised herself.

It's a rare night where the snow has receded, leaving a comfortable chill in its wake.  
  
Sooyoung presses a warm hand to Jinah's cheek. "Happy new year."  
  
She's smiling.


	2. a wedding

She looks so beautiful.  
  
If Jungah could tear her mind from this moment, the snow outside and the green arches in this hall; if Jungah were Sooyoung, she's sure she'd remember less than fondly the first time they found out about this. Remember the way she'd smiled as if a great weight had been lifted rather than put onto her shoulders, even while Sooyoung had already gone on her own tirade, stemmed only by Jinah's insistent gaze.  
  
Today she is radiant, and Jungah is carrying the white trail of her dress. As they approach the reception, as Juyeon bustles away to meet guests, Jungah stops breathing altogether.  
  
"Hello," Yoojin says, softly, as if it isn't the first time they've spoken in years. Jungah feels tears prickle in her eyes before she can stop them.  
  
They're all adults now, adults who burned bridges and adults who are standing, now, on the first scaffolds of the new bridge.   
  
"I-" Jungah shakes her head disbelievingly. "You-"  
  
"I was surprised when I received the invitation," Yoojin says, taking Jungah's hands in her own. "I always imagined I'd be the first one to crack."  
  
Jungah doesn't know what to say. _I missed you? I'm sorry? I've always been sorry?_ She can hardly remember the reason they'd split apart like marble, allowed to drift apart without glue.  
  
"How's the baby?" She says instead. Yoojin laughs, cocking her head. Everything is familiar and not all at once, and Yoojin is here, in front of her, holding her hands.  
  
"He's my entire life," Yoojin says. Jungah nods: she can relate, with her own two-year-old at home. She hasn't stopped thinking about him since she'd left on the bridesmaids car.   
  
"I always tell him about us," Yoojin says, palming her belly.  
  
"What about?" Jungah feels overwhelmed, small and big all at once, suddenly complete after years and years of pretending.  
  
"Do you remember," Yoojin says, absently, turning her eyes to the windows, "the first time we went out together, it was snowing."  
  
Jungah's fingers tremble as she lifts the glass to her lips. "And we didn't have enough money for three hotdogs," she laughs, suddenly, and feels tears welling up again.  
  
When she looks back, Yoojin is staring back at her. Her lips are trembling. Her hands haven't moved from where they are, clasped over Jungah's own.  
  
"My dear friend," Yoojin tells her, "forgive me."  
  
Jungah nods, and they're both crying, then, over a table of mixed nuts, over years lost.   
  
When they look back up, Juyeon is standing beside them, a quiet smile on her face.  
  
"You shouldn't cry on your wedding day," Yoojin says, and Juyeon lifts a hand to her eyes.  
  
"I'm not," she insists, and bursts into tears.


End file.
